Hilltopper39

Bet you can't make that drive in 25 minutes this Friday....... (traffic around those outlets can be a nightmare at times)

^Yeah, the Orlando park is in the same boat. Manta, Journey, Kraken, Antarctica, and the Waterfront all look fantastic where as Happy Harbor/Shamu/Wild Arctic, Pacific Point/Sea Lion Stadium, Key West, the old brewery, and the entry plaza all leave a lot to be desired. I will say they have done a terrific job of updating sections of the park over the years and I'm sure whatever is in store with Mako and the Shark Encounter will add a lot of character to that end of the park as well. They've already removed the games section an opened the new pretzel shop which looks great so can't say they're not at least making making an effort.

I love SeaWorld San Diego's main entrance, that's one of the aspects of the Orlando park I've never been a fan of. The entrance there always seems so packed and crowded, not to mention there's a beautiful pond and lighthouse then when you get inside the park you just kind of walk past a few building walls and then you're into the park. I wish SWO would remodel to entrance to be more like San Diego at some point in the future.

SeaWorld Orlando has always done a great job with their Christmas event, looking forward to getting down there in a few weeks myself.

^Yeah, same here, no wonder Universal is fighting it so much if this was what they knew was in the pipeline. Looks awesome. Also, pure fantasy speculation here, but I can't help but wonder what this area would look like if they Magic would have built the new Amway center here instead of Downtown? This kind of entertainment complex with a major sports arena/concert venue right next door would have been awesome.

We are going tonight! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it!

I saw a post online that Fun Spot had VR headsets on the Freedom Flyer during an IAAPA event, did anyone here happen to have a chance to experience that? I've read some reviews of that technology on the two Mack powered coasters at Europa and Canada's Wonderland but was curious what the experience on Freedom Flyer was like.

Yeah, and isn't there a new "prequel" movie of sorts coming out next year? I'm not a huge Potter fan but I have seen the movies, but I think the franchise has more staying power than people realize. I think there is also a stage play opening next summer year and maybe even another book in the works so yeah I expect Universal Hollywood to have huge gains in attendance and revenue from this just like Orlando and Japan are currently experiencing.

Blackout dates for all pass levels, that's pretty interesting. They must be expecting a massive attendance increase when Potter opens in which case this might actually work out pretty well. I have a feeling annual pass and daily ticket options at all of the year round "resort" parks (Disney, Universal, SeaWorld Parks) are going to look very different 5 years from now. I wouldn't be surprised to eventually see tired pricing, priority pricing, black out days, more hard ticketed special events, different annual pass options, it's all gonna continue to change.

If I know anything about Disney it is that if there is an opportunity to share a story about how and attraction is engineered or built, then that you can bet that a tv special will be made. I fully expect an hour long ABC special about Avatar the World of Pandora to be released when the new section opens.

I rode Kraken 4 times in a row without getting of the train may last trip to SeaWorld and finally came to the realization that I'm too old for 4 laps in a row anymore haha.

Yeah both of these properties look pretty amazing. I love how they have the floor of the lazy rive/ slide exit decorated with tile or something instead of just being a concret trough. Also, I wonder if any can use those ski jumps or if that's just for training purposes only? In America I can't imagine anywhere would ever let regular park guests go on a gigantic ski jump ramp but in other countries I could totally see this being a real attraction haha.

I thought the announcement for Mako and Cobra's Curse went okay earlier this summer, but yeah some of the other have been a bit strange. I'm wouldn't be surprised to see some joint marketing promoting 2 park annual passes locally for the 2 attractions. It always amazes me how many non-theme park people I know in Florida (and from other places) don't realize SeaWorld and Busch Gardens are owned by the same company considering how great of a value a 2 park pass is compared to the other options in town. Then again maybe the folks at SW/BGT like keeping that below the radar for some reason.

Good for them for actually getting this thing built, I was pretty skeptical of the concept but seems like it's underway.

I don't have the numbers in front of me so I may be wrong here but seems like I remember reading about SeaWorld Orlando's profit loss and thinking it sounded strange because the profit loss was slightly greater in magnitude than the attendance decrease. I realize that those two figures don't tell the entire story of the situation financially but I was expecting the numbers to be more comparable than they were in the report that I read. Anyways, I bought an annual pass last December and have probably been 5 or 6 times this year, and every time it has felt like there is a good crowd and every One Ocean show I've been to has been full. So the park may not be doing as well as it once was but I think they're still doing okay.

A smaller more intimate version of Animal Kingdom Lodge on/in/near the Serengeti plains section of the park is the first thing that came to my mind when I read Busch Gardens resort. There could be some really cool opportunities for morning and evening tours for resort guests if the resort is positioned in the park. Maybe add a train station and make stops for the resort, lots of cool possibilities.

Mako will be fun, it will be a great hit for SeaWorld, but Kumba will still be the best coaster in Florida.

I missed the dark ride concepts until recently, you have to think those might be replacements for the Wild Arctic attractions in San Diego and Orlando.

Didn't see that coming but I guess with the recent developments legally it shouldn't be a huge surprise. I think asked in the SeaWorld Orlando thread recently that if the BlueWorld project was going to phase out the existing show or be an addition to it, which was a dumb question at the time since the concept art on the previous page showed the stadium in the project, but maybe long term the show isn't part of the plan. If the new killer whale habitat is half as impressive as it looks in the concept art it may be a better attraction than the show ever can be. I know I don't enjoy the new show as much as the old one without the trainers interacting in the water, so if that portion is never coming back might as well move onto to a different type of experience.

Maverick Magnum Dragster Raptor Millennium Force Wicked Twister Gemini Blue Streak Iron Dragon Mantis Mean Streak Wildcat Mine Ride Disaster Transport Corkscrew Woodstock Express Jr. Gemini

Yeah, my last trip last month my daughter was just over 3 years old and she loved Happy Harbor. I think the Shamu Express has a 38" height requirement but most of the rest of the rides in that section the three year old should be able to ride with an adult. My 3 year old surprisingly loves the shows, she'll sit through the Shamu Show and the Dolphin show and enjoy every bit of it. Also, the "mild" side of Antarctica doesn't have a height restriction as far as I remember so your nephew should be able to ride that and honestly the "mild" and the "wild" side aren't that different. So yeah there's quite a bit for a 3 year old to do, you might get stuck in Happy Harbor for a few hours but oh well. Also, there's is a great family restroom in Happy Harbor that has changing stations and an air conditioned room with some games and stuff, pretty convenient.

No matter what day it is Kraken is usually is a 5-10 min wait manta usually is 10-25 min wait. for shows get there a few mins early plus you got the chrismas shows depending on what theater its at.The Polar express is a great ride every year so I wouldn't skip it. This, I was there this past summer on a Saturday afternoon in July and got into the park and on and off of Kraken and Manta (3 rides Kraken actually I think) and out of the park in about an hour and a half. The coaster lines are always light no matter what the crowd looks like. Antarctica surprisingly seems to always have about 30+ minute line. Other than the coasters Journey to Atlantis is still a pretty fun ride (don't sit in the front unless you want to get drenched), and the aquarium inside of the gift shop is pretty cool (and easy to miss). I love Blue Horizons (the Dolphin Show) and it's always been my favorite show at the park. The Sharks Underwater Grill is a pretty solid restaurant, but if you're not interested in a meal there make sure to grab a drink and check out the bar with the aquarium bar top, pretty cool.

Yeah, part of the reason I made the comments I did about Disney is because Disney might be (one of) the only places where you will have a really long line for an attraction where kids under 2 or 3 can still participate. If Twisted Colossus has a 2 hour line opening year everyone in line for that attraction should understand that and for the most part have the ability to wait it out. If The Many Adventures of Winney the Pooh has a 2 hour line on a Saturday afternoon in July, and a 2 year old has an issue that the cast members can deal with without disrupting the operation of the attraction or negatively effecting the experience of the other guests in line then that's a different scenario (to me at least).

^I was thinking the same thing while I was reading this. As uninterested as I am in the Orlando Horror Nights Event I'd love to check out Hollywood's once just for the terror tram. HHN Hollywood, Knotts Scary Farm, Dark Harbor would be a pretty nice little weekend. Maybe Mickey's Halloween party, Home Depot, maybe Bed Bath and Beyond, don't know, don't know if there'll be enough time.

^I've actually seen that happens at parks more than once, it gets pretty weird.